Added on April 30, 2017  The News Wheel   , , , , ,
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Independent Testers Show Dismal Emissions Compliance in Europe’s Diesel Cars

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Waiting to turn left and creating more CO2 emissions = bad

It seems that when it comes to diesels, Europe is in a rough position.

Europe has long been a hotbed for diesel vehicles, where they have been historically regarded as cleaner than conventional gasoline engines, partly because they emit less CO2 (although far more NOx) and have stronger fuel efficiency numbers. However, the Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal brought two issue to light: Europe’s vehicles need closer scrutiny, and Europe’s vehicle testing is just not representative of real-life driving.

To that end, Emissions Analytics, an independent research group, tested European diesel vehicles in real-world conditions to see if they met Euro 6 emissions standards, which went into effect in September 2015.

The results were not encouraging.

Emissions Analytics published its findings in the EQUA Air Quality Index, finding that only 16 of 116 tested diesel vehicles met Euro 6 standards for NOx. Taking that one step further, only 14 more met the less-strict Euro 5 standards, which were in place before Euro 6, leaving 86 diesel vehicles which don’t even meet those now-obsolete emissions standards in real-world driving.

Even beyond that, more than half were described as not meeting any of the Euro emissions standards, emitting NOx roughly equivalent to 12 or more times the Euro 6 limit.

Results from Emissions Analytics have led to improved regulations in the past, and now would be a prime time for that to happen again, as EU regulators reevaluate their testing procedures.

News Sources: Green Car Reports, EQUA Air Quality Index